MMY CONNECTIONS
 #23~June 8, 2016~ 2nd of Sivan, 5776
!שבועות שמח 


Shavuot: More Than Just The Torah
  
 
   
By: Mrs. Hudi Elsant
(Current MMY Faculty, and MMY 5760-5761)
 
We are accustomed to referring to Shavuot as "זמן מתן תורתנו" and celebrating this day as the receiving of the most precious gift.  Yet there is one Minhag on this holiday which the Rambam writes is bordering on heresy.  When the עשרת הדברות are read in Shul, the custom (widely adopted in Ashkenazic minyanim) is to rise and remain standing throughout.  The implication is that somehow these Ten Commandments are more important than the rest of the Torah.  Our fundamental belief, however, is that the entire Torah was given to us by H"KBH, and is therefore equally sacred.  Why do we treat the עשרת הדברות as holier than any other portion in the Torah?!

The entire Torah has "trup", marks of the טעמים, showing us how it should be read in shul and giving punctuation to the words of the Torah. The trup divides the pasuk into halves, quarters, and eighths.   The עשרת הדברות have two sets of trup, called the טעם עליון and the טעם תחתון, meaning that there are two ways to punctuate them.  The טעם עליון divides the Ten Commandments by דיברות, while the טעם תחתון divides them by pesukim.  On Shavuot we read the טעם עליון, dividing the commandments by דיברות, while for any other time of year we use the טעם תחתון. What is the significance of punctuating the Torah on Shavuot through the דיברות and not through the pesukim?


Shavuot: 
Zman Matan Torateinu 
VS Chag Hakatzir

  
By: Paulette Tawil
(Current MMY Student)

When our thoughts reflect on the upcoming holiday of Shavuot, our commemoration of מתן תורה usually stands out most prominently (among them). Shavuot is full of מנהגים that are meant to commemorate the giving and receiving of the Torah after בני ישראל left מצרים. For instance, we eat מאכלי חלב, dairy foods, which symbolize the Torah, as seen from the pasuk "דבש וחלב תחת לשונך". Another reason given for eating dairy quoted in the משנה ברורה is that since בני ישראל received the Torah on Har Sinai, the newly acquired laws of kashrut complicated the situation and required a lot of preparation, thus precluding them from eating meat immediately after מתן תורה. Accordingly, they ate dairy foods, and so we do as well on Shavuot to salute this gesture. In addition to eating dairy, we also have the מנהג to stay awake learning Torah all night. And lastly, in the תפילות of  the day, we call Shavuot by the name of זמן מתן תורתינו and read the עשרת הדברות during the קריאת התורה of the day. All these מנהגים indicate the central theme of Shavuot, which is clearly מתן תורה.

However, when examining the פסוקים in which Shavuot is commanded, the fact that Shavuot is a holiday to commemorate מתן תורה is not mentioned there! In contrast with the other two of the שלשת הרגלים, there is no historical event tied to Shavuot.

Listen to MMY's Library of Shiurim about Shavuot:


Shurim by Rabbi Lerner
Audio Shiurim from Rabbi Eliezer Lerner: 
  1. Shavuot 15 minute Sicha
  2. Shavuot 5769




The Cooking Show
With Sloppy Moe!
MMY Shares Another Awesome Yom Tov Recipe!
  

A melt-in-your mouth creamy and multi-flavored delight!
With an Oreo crust and lemon zest sprinkled cheese filling, it's both sweet and tart, and simply delicious!

Moe Berman, MMY's long time chef, shares his very own professional custom recipes. Subscribe to the channel to receive his monthly Cooking Show demos.

MMY Mourns the Passing of 
Rabbanit Esther Rivka Wagner, A"H

"שמע בני מוסר אביך ועל תטוש תורת אמך"
A Heritage of Hope


  
Rabbanit Wagner with her daughter Malky, and her grandchildren,
Rabbi Shalom Weisberg (current MMY faculty), and Michal

On the 17th of Iyar, May 25th, 2016, I paid a visit to Mrs. Malky Weisberg, who graciously invited me to her office on the Yad Vashem campus. Little did I know the significance of that date.

Rabbanit Esther Rivka Wagner (nee Willig) A"H, Malky's mother, had passed away just two months prior at the age of 92. Rabbanit Wagner, a holocaust survivor and an impressive woman of her own right, had been a long-time MMY witness on our annual Heritage trip to Poland. Her passing was a tremendous loss for all of us too. Just two weeks after her passing, MMY 5776 embarked on yet another voyage, attempting a glimpse at a horror that was. With all this happening in succession, one after the other, I reached out to her daughter to try and connect with the history and memories that much of the MMY family feel so intimately a part of. I sat with Malky, and asked her to give me a taste of the inspiring life of her mother, and the legacy that she left behind.

When Malky spoke, there was no pomp or ceremony. She spoke simply, yet poignantly, and I began to get an idea about the woman who raised her. She started at the very beginning of Rabbanit Wagner's story, providing me with background and painting a picture of the piety of her mother's origins. Forty-five minutes later, we were both crying.
  
2w35

 
  



"Na'aseh V'nishma" 
If You Will It...
  
  
Katie Matanky, MMY 5769-5770 
(Jerusalem, Israel)

Throughout my year and half at MMY, I did exactly what Rabbi Katz predicted - I got more confused than I ever expected. (Does he still say that on the first Shabbat?) Somehow I not only learned more than I ever had in my life, I learned how much MORE there was to learn, way more than anything that would be confined to the classroom. During my year and a half, the classroom magically expanded to include my whole world. I learned from my teachers, from my tour guides, from bus drivers, grieving mothers on Yom Hazikaron, makolet owners and those third cousins of my father's great-aunt's neighbor's brother's wife who I obviously went to for Shabbat - because we were "family". This was Israel, and for whatever reason, it became home for me. Over the course of my time at MMY, I began to envision my life here in Israel.

Making Aliyah became fact - not a question of "if," rather a whole bunch of questions of "when" and "how". I vividly remember a time in high school, after a short but amazing summer program in Israel, coming back home to Chicago and writing down (so I even have proof!) "I can be a real Zionist and live in America." And I might still believe that (a whole long discussion that I'm sure would be fascinating and intellectually stimulating to discuss in an MMY classroom) but it changed for me after MMY. I remember writing it and feeling it at the time, and then I came to Israel for more than just a summer program and I changed. I wanted to be here for good - l'ad - as Rav Kook would say.

And so the journey began.



 
    

MMY's Guide: A Trek of Touring and Torah 
  

Originally hailing from Brooklyn, NY and Silver Spring, MD, Rabbi  Eliyahu Migdal was amongst the youngest of the pioneering founders of Moshav Matityahu; coming on Aliyah along with his parents and two siblings in 1981. He continues to build his home there together with his wife Rochel Leah and their five children. 

An alumnus of Yeshivat Maarava and Yeshivat Heichal HaTorah, with Smicha from Rabbi Zev Leff, Rabbi Migdal's extensive knowledge of the history and topographical layout of Eretz Yisrael is based upon his firm foundation in Torah and Tanach. He can trace his first Tiyulim back to his childhood love of exploration, nature and Chibat Ha'aretz where he began leading impromptu hikes for his elementary schoolmates. As a classroom teacher with a special affinity for Tanach, becoming a licensed tour guide was a natural progression for Rabbi Migdal to combine his love of teaching, love of Eretz Yisrael and love of the outdoors.

 
MMY Pride:
36 under 36
  
 
  
Nechama (Friedman) Price & Carmelle Danneman
(MMY 5758-5759, MMY 5773)

The New York Jewish Week's Special Section features a yearly highlight showcasing 36 impressive individuals under the age of 36 who are reinventing the Jewish community, titled "Introducing the Millennials Who Are Changing the Face of the Jewish Community"

Among the 2016 innovators, 2 of our prized MMY alumnae were awarded recognition for their unique contributions. Nechama Price (MMY 5758-5759), the current director of Yeshiva University's GPATS program, is also one of the first five American Orthodox women to become a certified Yoetzet Halacha. Carmelle Danneman (MMY 5773), recent graduate of Stern College for Women, is now an award-winning film producer. Some of her works include "Send in the Clowns" and "The Puppeteer". Both Nechama and Carmelle have succeeded in achieving great accomplishments, going above and beyond to utilize their passions and talents to inspire and produce greatness.
   






MMY's Esteemed Rosh Beit Medrash 
Rabbi Eliezer Lerner
Recently Released His New Written Accomplishment 
KOL HASHONEH HALACHOS
  
  

Rabbi Lerner moved to Eretz Yisrael with his family in 5754 ('94) and has been teaching in MMY since the founding of the school in Elul 5756 ('96). For a few years he sent a weekly (or bi-weekly) short shiur in Halacha, titled "Kol Hashoneh Halachos", to our alumnae. About 5 1/2 years ago, he began his work of revising the format and expanding the scope of the shiurim to publish a sefer. There are 354 questions & answers (corresponding to the number of days in a regular year on the Jewish calendar). The questions are all based on Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim, its commentators and contemporary Poskim. The first third deals with Hilchot Tefilla & Brachot, the next third with Hilchot Shabbat, and the final third with Hilchot Moadim. Many of these issues were discussed in shiurim given in MMY and Rabbi Lerner is very grateful to have the privilege to teach the talmidot of MMY.

To purchase a book, please email [email protected]

Michlelet Mevaseret Yerushalayim | Derech Chevron 60 | Jerusalem | 93513 | Israel